Japan have named the same group of players that will take part in the men's cricket competition at the Asian Games in Nagoya in late September for the one-off T20I against India, to be played on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground.
Twenty-one-year-old spin-bowling allrounder Jake Kusuda-Nairn has earned a call-up despite never having represented Japan, while Tsuyoshi Takada, who played three T20Is in 2023, got a recall.
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, Japan's leading batter with 1871 runs from 54 T20I innings, will continue to lead the side, with Ibrahim Takahashi and Declan Suzuki-McComb contributing a large share of experience to the line-up - they have played 56 and 54 T20Is respectively.
The historic game against T20I world champions India, to be played for the Suzuki Cup, will launch the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of India-Japan diplomatic relations. This is the first time the two teams will face each other in international cricket.
The match will be the first step of "Sport 75", an initiative arising from the agreement during a meeting between the premiers of the two countries. The move also aims to promote cooperation between the two nations with an eye on India's ambition to host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2036.
Japan squad for one-off men's T20I against India
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (capt), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi (wk), Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk), Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake
